Early learning has become the buzzword — or phrase — in education circles as the provincial government pushes its plan to make B.C. the most literate jurisdiction in North America by 2015.

Programs with catchy names for the under-five set have been cropping up everywhere, with a flurry of press releases and ministerial appearances to mark many of those occasions.

First in the spotlight are the StrongStart centres that have been the education ministry’s top priority during the past year and are destined to remain in that spot for the coming year. The last budget speech promised the opening of 316 centres during the next two years in addition to the 84 already established.

These free drop-in centres are open for a few hours each day and staffed by qualified early-childhood educators. They offer stories, music and art for what the ministry calls “home-based children,” which means only children accompanied by a parent or caregiver may attend.

Their goal is to help parents and caregivers prepare their youngsters for school.

In addition to StrongStart centres, there are Books for Babies, Ready-Set-Learn, LEAP (Literacy, Education, Activity and Play) BC, Success by Six, Welcome to Kindergarten, Parent-Child Mother Goose, PALS (Parents as Literacy Supporters), Books for Breakfast and others.

The focus on early learning began in 2005 when the Education Ministry’s mandate was expanded to include learning and literacy for preschool children — newborns to five-year-olds. Education Minister Shirley Bond commented at the time that a quarter of children starting kindergarten were not adequately prepared to learn and were at risk of failure.

“There are children who arrive at the kindergarten door who have never held a pencil and also have never been read to or have books of their own,” she told The Vancouver Sun.

She noted that the percentage of children who arrive at school ill-prepared for learning is similar to the percentage of students who drop out of school before graduating. “We think there is a connection,” she added.

While many applaud the government’s new emphasis on early learning, some say the effort lacks an overall plan that would not only help parents decide which programs best fit their needs but would also knit together early learning and child care — since a majority of parents are in the workforce and can’t necessarily attend daytime drop-in centres.

Click here to see the full article in the Vancouver Sun.